Commissioner (Central Excise, Delhi-III) B.P. Srivastava said that despite the countrywide economic recession, the commissionerate had been able to increase its revenue by 7.33 per cent as compared to the previous financial year. He added that Maruti Udyog Ltd (MUL), Hero Honda, Indian Oil Corporation, Ballarpur Paper Mill, Carrier Aircon, Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT), Sona Steering, Enrich Agro and Jay Bharat Maruti Ltd were among the major contributors.

MUL, which normally accounts for 50 per cent of the commissionerate's revenue, faced stiff competition from Hyundai Santro, Daewoo's Matiz and Tata's Indica during the 1998-99 financial year. Maruti Udyog cut down its production by 20 per cent during this period and its profit margins tripped for the first time. ``That's why as compared to 1997-98, when MUL collected a revenue of Rs 1,329 crore, the company faced a shortfall of Rs 125 crore in 1998-99,'' Srivastava said.

Of the total revenue earned by the commissionerate, Rs 8 crore was collected through the Kar Vivad Samadhan scheme and around Rs 7.5 crore through the anti-evasion drive, the commissioner added.